Newsletter Date Councillor’s Newsletter October 28, 2016 KEEPING YOU INFORMED Councillor’s View INSIDE THIS ISSUE Dear residents, Carp at Hazeldean Traffic Inquiries 2 Erica Wiebe Gymnasium Commemoration Ceremony 2 I’ve been receiving a few questions regarding Ottawa’s Light Stittsville Remembrance Day Parade 3 Rail Transit (LRT) system and how the transfer from “regular Service Adjustments to OC Transpo 2018 Network 4 route” to “express route” will impact customers. Stittsville Medical Imaging Centre 6 Many changes will be occurring incrementally throughout the Flu Clinics 7 year with some of the shifts beginning as early as this winter. I Have THAT Talk 7 have inquired with traffic staff with some of the more common …and more! questions and compiled the following information for residents’ convenience. routes that culminate in Stittsville will be greatly reduced, and these buses very possibly will be so full that they will not even In 2017 buses to Kanata & Stittsville 252, 256, 261, 262, 263, stop at Tunney's. What mitigating measures will be taken to 264, 265, 267, 268 & 269 won't stop at Westboro, Dominion, ensure that Stittsville residents continue to receive timely and Lincoln Fields, or Pinecrest Station. Will OC Transpo be assured transportation? notifying riders of this change? The change to the stopping pattern on the Connexion routes to OC Transpo will be supplying detailed information to Stittsville – Routes 261, 262, and 263 – is specifically being customers through octranspo.com, on board buses, and at the made to ensure that there will be capacity available for stations affected. The information to customers will begin customers travelling to Stittsville. By removing service at the dissemination in mid-November. stations along the Transitway after Tunney’s Pasture, customers travelling to those stations are required to use other services, Will larger buses/more buses be sent to accommodate the primarily Rapid routes like Routes 91, 92, 94, 95, 97, and 97. increased ridership? Is there a possibility to implement earlier/later routes for the Capacity will be increased on routes where a net ridership current express routes in Stittsville? increase is expected. The unified fare will allow some customers to move from a Rapid route to a Connexion route, Based on the suggestions provided, OC Transpo staff are and the revised stopping pattern will require short-distance currently evaluating the benefits, costs, and financial feasibility travellers to move from a Connexion route to a Rapid route. to add earlier or later service. Ridership levels and changes in ridership patterns will continue to be monitored in case any further capacity I would like to also take a moment to thank all residents for adjustments are required. their patience during this transition. Light Rail Transit is a huge shift for the entire City of Ottawa and while changes will be Has OC Transpo taken into account the effect that the LRT will necessary in ensuring its success, I am also confident that what have on buses? we will see by the end of the process is a consistent twenty-first century transportation system that will benefit Ottawa residents The changes that are being made during 2017 and 2018 are for many years to come. all to integrate the bus service with the improved travel that the O-Train Confederation Line will provide. There are If you have any questions that were not answered in this article, expectations that there will be an increase in system ridership please do not hesitate to share them with me and I will be happy over the medium term as new customers are attracted by the to compile a second set of frequently asked questions alongside improved reliability and comfort, and as employment levels in OC Transpo. Please email all questions to downtown are able to increase with the increased [email protected]. Thank you. transportation capacity. Sincerely, Shad Residents are concerned that the option to take the express Page 2 Keeping You Informed Carp at Hazeldean Traffic Inquiries I’ve been hearing concerns from several residents over the past few months regarding the intersection at Carp Road and Hazeldean. Many residents feel as though an advance left turn signal needs to be implemented for vehicles turning eastbound from Hazeldean onto Carp Road. This has been a major discussion for at least two years with traffic staff and I am happy to supply an update. Having discussed this concern with the City’s Traffic Department, Traffic Staff conducted review on 12 hours of video footage of the intersection during morning rush-hour over the last two months. The footage concludes that while eastbound traffic turning left from Hazeldean onto Carp Road (toward the 417) is high, it does not spill out of the left-turn storage lane. Secondly, there is a very low volume of westbound traffic on Hazeldean Road to interfere with eastbound drivers turning left. Overall, traffic staff concluded that eastbound left-turn vehicles experienced an excellent level of service, and therefore did not recommend that any traffic signal changes be made at this time. Traffic staff also took time to review suggestions to create a dedicated right turn lane at this intersection as drivers in the northbound curbside lane are often not expected to continue straight through the intersection. However, as analysis has shown that this would nearly double the northbound straight through queue length during all periods of the day, this was not recommended. I hope that this helps to resolve some residents’ inquiries regarding this intersection. Of course, should residents have any alternative ideas/questions, I encourage you to contact my office by emailing me at [email protected] or by phoning me at 613.580.2476. Erica Wiebe Gymnasium Commemoration Ceremony As announced at her homecoming party on August 25th, the Goulbourn Recreation Complex (GRC) Gymnasium will be undergoing a commemorative naming for Olympic gold-medalist and Stittsville- born Erica Wiebe. Erica came out on top in the Women’s Freestyle 75-kilogram wrestling category, earning Canada’s fourth, and final gold medal in the Rio Summer Olympics this year. As the City Councillor of Stittsville, I am thrilled to bestow this honour onto Erica and her family on behalf of the Keeping You Informed Page 3 community and would like to invite all residents to share this moment on November 1st from 7:00- 8:00 PM. The event will be held at the GRC, 1500 Shea Rd, right beside Sacred Heart High School where Erica spent the formative years of her life developing her love of wrestling. The gym is a second home to many impressionable future Olympians. Stittsville Remembrance Day Parade I would like to invite all residents to the Stittsville Legion Remembrance Day parade. The parade will commence November 11th at 1:45 PM, departing from the Legion Branch 618 on 1480 Stittsville Main and concluding with a ceremonial service at the Stittsville Cenotaph from 2:30-2:45 PM. Please be advised of potential road delays north on Stittsville Main and west on Warner-Copitts Lane during this time. After the service has concluded, the parade participants will return to the Royal Canadian Legion east on Mulkins Street between the Stittsville Cenotaph and Stittsville Main Street, and south on Stittsville Main Street between Mulkins Street and the Stittsville+ Legion. I encouraged you to wear your poppy this November 11th and I hope that many Stittsville residents will be able to make it out to this ceremony as we honour our fallen veterans and those still fighting for our country today. Poppy Blitz The annual Legion Poppy Blitz will be taking place Sunday, October 30th from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Children from across the community will break out in groups with trays of poppies and canvass door to door. I encourage all residents to be on the lookout and buy a poppy to show your pride for our Canadian troops. Rest assured that they aren’t simply enthusiastic trick or treaters. For more information, please visit the Stittsville Legion website here. Page 4 Keeping You Informed Service Adjustments in Transition to the 2018 Network As you may know, transit service in Ottawa will be taking a significant shift in these upcoming months. Further to OC Transpo’s regular schedule adjustments, which take place four times a year – April, June, September and December, this includes service adjustments being made as part of the transition to the 2018 network. Changes to the OC Transpo system will be made in several phases to be ready for the opening of the O-Train Confederation Line in 2018 and to ease the changes that will be experienced by customers. This winter, OC Transpo will begin to implement some of the adjustments that are required as part of the transition to the 2018 network. On January 1, 2017, OC Transpo will implement several changes to the fare system, as approved by Council on June 22, that are required in coordination with the upcoming changes to the way transit services are delivered with the opening of the Confederation Line. Fare prices will be set by Council in the 2017 budget. These changes include: The removal of premium fares for express routes and the requirement for fare upgrades in the morning peak period on Para Transpo service; The recalibration of single-ride fares so that cash and e-purse prices are more closely aligned; The replacement of the Student monthly pass with a new Youth monthly pass that will be available for all people aged 19 and under; The removal of the requirement for fare upgrades on Para Transpo for Community Pass holders who are Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) recipients; and, The introduction of a new Access Pass, available to Para Transpo registrants who are not ODSP recipients, that will be priced the same as the Community Pass, for unlimited travel on conventional service and a one-third discount from the single-ride fare for trips on Para Transpo.